


Ocean Orphan

by hips_of_steel



Series: Cold Seas [3]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-28 23:23:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6349834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hips_of_steel/pseuds/hips_of_steel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Berwald and Tino rescue a young, orphaned merman, Peter, and decide to keep him as their own.</p><p>(Occurs simultaneously with Northern Waters)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ocean Orphan

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to state upfront that I love orcas, but they are intelligent and dangerous, and that if mermaids existed, they would probably be a little lower down the food chain than the orca.  
> (Also, on the whacking them in the nose, I'm not sure if that would work with orcas, but sharks, dogs, and most animals hate to have anything hit their nose, so I'm assuming orcas would be similar.)

The first hints of spring were arriving in the waters of the Baltic Sea, and the early sunrise woke one pod of merfolk up quite early in the day.

Tino chirped excitedly as the others began to wake up due to him swimming among them, whistling out a wake up call. If he had been depressed after his return to them a few months before, they could only call his current mood ecstatic.

And it was all because of the big male trying to currently shove his mate off himself as the violet tailed merman tugged on pelvic fins, arms, and whatever else he could reach to wake the big merman with the aquamarine tail.

Lukas watched with one eye open from his sleeping circle as Tino suddenly stopped moving, watching Berwald. The big merman reached for his own tail as if to go back to sleep, and Lukas held back a snort of laughter.

Tino waited a few moments after Berwald had closed his eyes before making his move, reaching out and yanking on a handful of blond hair hard and fast.

Berwald snapped awake and snarled, whirling and grabbing his mate, but rather than being vicious, the big male caught him around the midsection and began to spin hard and fast, the way young couples often play fought. In the end, both were happily awake and rubbing their cheeks together.

Emil stuck his tongue out at the display of affection between the young couple, and moved off to see if he could spot himself breakfast. Matthias, just beginning to stretch, tried to keep his hands on Lukas's tail, but Lukas shook him off, not wanting a Tino wake up call again. His scalp was finally getting used to being left in one place now that Tino woke up his mate before moving onto the others

Once the members were all awake, they began to search for food in their tiny territory that was actually quite bountiful for the moment. The other pods were just beginning to head back from the North Sea and the waters of the Atlantic, and the fish had beaten them back. But as summer began to roll in, it would be constant competition, so it was important to start fattening up now.

Lukas felt a fish shoved into his back, and whirled to snort at Matthias. No matter how many times he made it clear he wasn't interested to the other male, spring awoke something amorous in the red tailed merman, and made him flirt all the more.

Emil waited until Lukas's back was turned to rush by and steal the fish, which Lukas giggled about as Matthias chased after the stolen gift, clearly offended. At least one of them was getting a free breakfast out of Matthias's flirting.

 

Tino and Berwald wandered off from the group once they had fed. Tino was still teaching Berwald what he needed to know to communicate. He didn't want his large mate accidentally making a signal of aggression due to ignorance when the other pods returned to the Baltic Sea.

Berwald suddenly flicked his tail in a manner, trying to imitate something he had seen Matthias do towards Lukas, and Tino got very offended, instantly whacking the big male with his own tail to reprimand him. This was how Berwald was learning, through imitation and Tino's reactions to it.

Berwald turned scarlet when Tino explained what that _particular_ little gesture meant. Apparently it was a terrible attempt to seduce another. The mermaid equivalent of a terribly offensive pickup line. Both of them were blushing and scarlet in the end of that little conversation.

But in the end, Tino laughed and did the same tail gesture, turning Berwald scarlet once more. Tino moved forward, and they rubbed their cheeks together before kissing.

Berwald reached out and took Tino's hand, as though to take him somewhere more private when suddenly a sharp cry echoed through the water.

Both males spun towards the sound, which did not come from the direction of their pod.

Tino tensed as he swam towards the noise, Berwald following close behind.

They finally reached the noise and looked out, but Tino suddenly whistled in alarm, rushing forward towards a small figure curled up in the coral, injured or unconscious.

Berwald quickly saw the reason why the thing was hiding in the coral, thought he smelled it first. Looking up, he saw that far above them, a merwoman was floating, blood spilling from her body. She had just been killed.

A large orca hovered near the kill, but it was watching them

And Berwald knew that where one orca was, there was a pod nearby.

He screamed a warning, and Tino raced back, both males sending alarm cries to their pod as they raced through the water.

 

Emil heard the screeching first, and Matthias and Lukas instantly grabbed rocks, driftwood, and whatever else they could find to fend off the predators that were coming. Emil quickly found a rock cavern that they could tuck into once the others had returned.

Tino and Berwald hurriedly joined the group, the faint scent of blood on Tino and Berwald revealing a trail.  
One that orcas could follow.

Swiftly, with Lukas as the last, they tucked themselves into the rock cavern, waiting for the predators to approach.

Soon enough, the pod of orcas came through. Lukas winced as he smelled blood in the water. The blood of their kind.

And suddenly, a sharp cry came from behind him, deep within the cavern.

He turned to see that Tino was holding something in his arms, clinging to it like a lifeline. And the tiny thing was crying.

But not the cries of an unfamiliar animal.

The cries of a child, a merchild not much more than a single round of seasons old, maybe two.

The orcas caught the sound of the cry, and Tino quickly pressed the child's face to his chest, trying to soothe the little one. But the cries kept coming.

Berwald flicked his tail in the small space anxiously. The orcas were coming closer.

Lukas suddenly dropped his stick and reached out towards the child, setting a hand on their head, singing the softest song he could. Slowly, the cries disappeared as the child was lulled into a world of sleep by the sea witch's son.

But the orcas were still nearby, and now they knew exactly where the mermen were hiding.

Matthias lifted his piece of driftwood and shoved it out the opening towards the curious youngster who came too close to the opening, hissing and snarling as he slammed the wood into his nose, deterring the creature from approaching.

Lukas returned to his post, grabbing a large rock and aiming.

A big female came up, and reached for the stick, mouth open. Matthias drew it back into the cavern swiftly to avoid being pulled out into the open, and Lukas aimed.

The rock hit her right in the nose, and she recoiled in surprise. Emil and Berward swiftly began handing Lukas rocks while Matthias shoved his stick out of the opening to defend him.

Finally, after about an hour of trying to reach the mermen, the orcas gave up and retreated. But Lukas knew they would be waiting nearby, hoping to lull the mermen into a sense of false security.

As the pod pressed into the back of the cavern to wait out the rest of the day, Tino finally unwrapped the child from his own tight grip and examined him closely.

The child was a male pup with light blond hair and a light blue tail, as well as thick eyebrows. He was tightening his fists and releasing them when they found nothing to hold, looking for a pelvic fin to cling to.

Lukas said nothing at first, and then Tino looked at him for guidance. Lukas shrugged, as though to say _You found him, it's up to you._

Berwald came over to Tino, who looked at the tiny boy for a few moments, and then Tino slowly brought the child up to his face.

He pressed his cheek against that of the baby, and looked at Berwald, who understood what he wanted him to do.

Berwald carefully took the child and did the same, pressing his cheek against the baby. Then Tino lowered the boy and let him take hold of his pelvic fin, instantly lulling the child into an even deeper sleep.

Both of them began to sing soft ditties as night fell, and as the pod lay against the rocks rather than in their usual sleeping circles, the child woke up.

The child was quiet as they sang, looking around in confusion, and then clinging close to Tino, looking back and forth between him and Berwald.

Lukas watched them once more with one eye open, pretending to be sleeping.

Both the males pressed their face against the little boy, and he returned the gesture, and although he was hesitant at first, he was soon calm.

 _Where mama?_ He finally asked in a series of clicks.

Tino was silent for a moment before responding. _Gone. But we will be here._

The tiny boy turned, and looked at Berwald for a moment, and then poked him in the nose. Lukas chuckled when the big merman raised his eyebrows in a gesture that was quite friendly in mermaids.

The little boy nodded, smiled, then clicked his name.

 _Peter_.

Tino smiled, and the boy curled up against him, finally coming to rest on his chest.

Berwald moved closer to Tino, and the three of them lay together in the center.

Lukas smiled softly before tucking himself closer to the sleeping forms of Matthias and Emil.

 

As morning came, the pod emerged, slowly, and on guard, but they emerged nonetheless.

They left that feeding ground, and headed towards the returning pods. There was safety in numbers, especially with a little one among them now.

Peter kept his hand on Berwald's pelvic fin, watching the others and occasionally moving over towards Tino, who smiled softly at the feeling of tiny hands clinging to him.

As summer progressed, Peter became more and more comfortable in their group, and soon enough the small Tino became momma, and Berwald papa.

And when they saw the fishing boat while they swam with Katyusha's pod and greeted the men onboard, Peter clung to his parents, happily cooing.

Lukas had to smile.

The boy had found a good home.


End file.
